Twinsburg Had a Huge Surplus – Where Did Our Money Go?

In a previous post (Issue 24 – Request For Questions) I asked for resident questions about the upcoming Issue 24 on this November’s ballot. I will be posting the questions I received with the answers. Please send questions to me at gregbellantwinsburg@gmail.com or send them via the contact form.

Question

The city of Twinsburg had a huge surplus that was wasted on paying debt for a clubhouse. If funds had not been wasted on wants instead of needs this would not be an issue.  So… Where did our money go?

Answer

I understand that residents may be opposed to the construction of the Clubhouse and I respect anyone’s opinion who may believe the City made a mistake in committing so much money to that facility. However, stating that the City spent its surplus on the Clubhouse is simply factually inaccurate. The City did not pay for the clubhouse with cash. The bonds will be issued before the end of the year and the debt will be distributed over years.

You are correct in stating that the City once held a surplus by way of a peak General Fund ending balance of $26,800,000 in 2013. Below you will see the capital investments the City made for each department between 2013 through 2020.

Capital Investments by Department 2013 – 2020

These expenditures were for long term capital improvements in addition to the annual operating expenses for each department.